Carton opener



J- H. DE LANO CARTON OPENER May 28, 1957 Filed Oct. 20, 1955 John H. De Lana IN VEN TOR. BY Zv 5 United States Patent CARTON OPENER John H. De Lano, Fort Worth, Tex.

Application October 20, 1955, Serial No. 541,803

2 Claims. (Cl. 81-3) The present invention relates to new and useful improvements in tools for opening milk or similar cartons provided with a folded rupturable mouth.

In milk cartons now in common use the top thereof is sealed by folding the same upon itself and securing the folded top in closed position by a stapler or other fastening device and the double thickness of the folded top of the carton frequently presents difficulty in opening the same along the score line provided for that purpose. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a tool for easily and quickly opening the top of the carton.

Another object of the invention is to provide a carton opening tool of this character which is constructed of a single strand of rigid wire bent to form a handle at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the tool and having the front end of the tool shaped to fit both at the inside and at the outside of one of the folded flaps of the carton and engaged with the folded top of the carton to spread the latter in an opening movement by a turning action of the handle of the tool.

A still further object is to provide a tool of this character of simple and practical construction, which is efficient and reliable in operation, relatively inexpensive to manufacture and otherwise well adapted for the purpose for which the same is intended.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view;

Figure 2 is a plan view of a tool;

Figure 3 is a side elevational view; and

Figure 4 is an end elevational view of the front of the tool.

Referring now to the drawing in detail wherein for the purpose of illustration I have disclosed a preferred embodiment of the invention, the numeral 5 designates the tool generally and which is constructed of a single strand of rigid wire which is bent at an intermediate portion thereof to provide a pair of arms 6 and 7 positioned in spaced parallel relation to each other. The rear end portion of the arms are twisted about each other as shown at 8 to rigidly connect the rear portion of the principles of the invention.

2,793,549 Patented May 28, 1957 arms to each other and the ends of the wire at the rear of the twisted portion are then bent outwardly in opposite directions with respect to each other and shaped to form substantially rectangular handles 9 and 10 which project laterally outwardly in opposite directions with respect to the arms 6 and 7.

The front end portions of the arms 6 and 7 are bent at a rearwardly inclined angle to form stationary jaws 11 and 12 which are rigidly connected to each other by a cross-bar 13. The jaws 11 and 12 are twisted at an angle with respect to each other so that the jaws extend in crossed relation with respect to each other.

A milk carton is shown at 14 and the corners of the carton at its open end are folded inwardly to form flaps 15 and 16 which converge toward the open end of the carton and the open end of the carton is folded upon itself as shown at 17 and secured in closed position by a stapler or other suitable fastener 18. The folded upper edge of the carton is provided with a score line 19 which extends inwardly from one end of the folded top 17 to a point adjacent the center of the carton and the arm 6 of the tool is inserted at the inside of the flap 16 while the arm 7 is positioned on the outside of said flap and the jaw 11 is positioned between the folds of the folded flap 17, as indicated in Figure 1 of the drawing.

The flap 15 is then held by one hand of a person while the handles 9 and 10 are gripped in the other hand and the tool twisted to rupture the folded top 17 along the score line 19.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A carton opener comprising a rigid wire member including a handle at one end of said member and a pair of spaced apart wire jaws at the other end of said member, said jaws being positioned in crossed relation to each other, and a pair of wire arms rigidly connecting the respective jaws to the handle, said jaws being disposed at an angle to the arms.

2. A carton opener comprising a rigid wire member including a handle at one end of said member and a pair of spaced apart wire jaws at the other end of said mem-' her, said jaws being positioned in crossed relation to each other, and a pair of wire arms rigidly connecting the respective jaws to the handle, said jaws being disposed at a rearwardly inclined angle at the front portion of said arms.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,963,007 Week June 12, 1934 2,044,129 Soukup June 16, 1936 2,121,193 Hanicke June 21, 1938 2,582,947 Burnard Ian. 22, 1952 

